Brazil and Mexico Move On From Group A

RECIFE, Brazil—There aren't many constants at the World Cup, but Mexico making the round of 16 is one of them. Like clockwork, El Tri has survived the group stage at every tournament since 1994, right along with Brazil and Germany. Monday evening was no different: Mexico punched its ticket for a sixth straight time by beating Croatia 3-1.

What happens once El Tri gets to that fourth game, as its fans know too well, is equally predictable. The side hasn't won a knockout game in any of its past five World Cup appearances. Breaking that streak now means Mexico will have to take down the hottest team at the tournament on Sunday in Fortaleza. The Dutch await.

"We're used to Mexico being the second round. But we want to keep going, we want to dream bigger," goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa said. "We always get knocked out there, and it's going to be complicated again."

Mexico secured the second spot in Group A, behind hosts Brazil, with three goals in the space of 11 minutes. El Tri's 35-year-old captain, Rafa Marquez, led the way by heading home a 72nd-minute corner kick, before Andres Guardado made it 2-0. Knowing that a tie would have been enough to see Mexico through, the two-goal lead made things all but certain.

The players celebrated like they knew it. Ochoa, whose heroics against Brazil last week paved the way for Mexico's qualification, ran a full 60 yards to leap into the arms of his coach Miguel Herrera. With his own fist-pumping antics, Herrera has already become one of the most telegenic sideline personalities of the tournament. But this time last year, he wasn't even the coach.

A minute-by-minute statistical breakdown of how the match of the day played out: Inside the Box.

Herrera was appointed last October as the fourth man in two years to guide El Tri through qualifying. "As a player, every coach that I see in this team, I think he's the best one," said striker Javier Hernandez, who scored Mexico's third before Croatia's consolation goal.

Brazil topped Group A after beating Cameroon 4-1, with two goals from Neymar. The game was tied at 1-1 after Joel Matip's header for the African side. But Neymar gave Brazil the lead for good in the 35th minute, before Fred and Fernandinho added goals in the second half. The Selecao will now face Chile in the round of 16.

"If I had a choice, I would have preferred to avoid Chile," Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "It's a balanced, organized South American team."

And Mexico would have preferred to avoid the Netherlands. Above all, though, it needed to secure qualification with at least a draw. So El Tri opened with a defensive approach, knocking long balls over the top.

Croatia needed a victory to advance, but couldn't complete an attack. Mario Mandzukic, who scored twice in the previous game against Cameroon, had just nine touches in the first half, half as many as his own goalkeeper, according to Opta Sports.

Midway through the second half, the side began to fall apart. The huge Mexican support here could sense the breakthrough was coming.

"After the first goal, Mexico was the only team on the pitch," Croatia midfielder Luka Modric said.

The situation in Brazil's game against Cameroon was unlikely to have any major influence on this game, since there was no realistic scenario for Croatia and Mexico to qualify together. One of them was always going home unless Cameroon won in a landslide.

Whether either team could win the group and avoid the Netherlands' orange steamroller in the next round briefly became a possibility for a few minutes after Mexico's lightning strike. Leading 3-0, El Tri was suddenly level on goal difference with the hosts, relegated to second place only because it had scored fewer goals. But Brazil and Croatia conspired to clear up any confusion in the next five minutes. Both teams scored to lay the goal-differential question to rest.

The fans barely paused the party in the stands at the Arena Pernambuco to consider this. They lingered in their seats after the final whistle, knowing that El Tri would be sticking around for at least one game past the group stage.

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